Hello everyone,
I am new here and I'm a bit unsure how things work here but I'll take any help I get. I am currently a sophomore at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University majoring in Finance and Real Estate and I'm aiming to get a summer analyst role at places like Citi, RBC, Bank of America, William Blair etc. and although I would love to work at elite boutiques such as Lazard and Evercore, IU Kelley is not one of their targets so those banks are, realistically, out of the question. My GPA is currently 3.4/4.0 but I'm confident by the end of my sophomore year it'll be at least a 3.8 or 3.9. I'm currently doing a financial modelling and valuations course and an internship at a boutique investment bank in the fall along with my school work. With recruiting less than a year away I was wondering if I could get some preparation tips or a particular resource that people here have used that has really helped them with the process. I pretty much have no guidance and I'm really worried about recruitment and hopefully someone here could give me a direction on what I should do from now. I've tried getting relevant internships and I'm starting to network with upperclassmen and alumni but is there anything else I should do? Any help would be really appreciated!
Thanks!
Make sure you know all of the “Basic” sections of the 400Q guide, and actually understand the concepts so you can go a level deeper if asked. I also advise you network with people you don’t know in addition to alumni, and with that cast a wider net of banks. You mentioned some BB, some MM in your post, you should make sure you have a specific reason for either/both when interviewing. Lastly, really make sure you get that GPA up. Your fall internship will surely help you stand out but if you have even a 3.6 gpa there will be tons of kids who will look better on paper.
Thank you so much!
Definitely going to further emphasize the 400Q guide and that the Basic sections should be enough. Advanced modeling courses shouldn't be necessary. Learn about the industry using sites like WSO - Mergers and Inquisitions is another good one. There's actually some really good Youtubers too. That boutique internship is a really great thing to have on your resume as a sophomore. Make sure you write down everything you do at that job because material like that on your resume will get seriously dug into during interviews. During a superday, I had one of the three interviews completely dedicated to one line on my resume talking about an LBO I did for an internship. Don't make it look like you are bullshitting. As for the grades, the GPA has got to get up especially because you're competing with top target schools (Ross/Harvard/Wharton) coming from Kelley. IU has done an awesome job of ranking up their B school especially with IB but you're still gonna be at a slight disadvantage versus those top tiers. As a result, recruiters will be more sensitive of your GPA and it's vital that you can prove to them you compete on the top level. Grades aside, the most important thing is networking and showing passion for the career. Getting people to like you will go a long way and make up for potential negatives whether it's a lower GPA or lack of experience. Finally, you need to be fucking passionate about this career because there's more kids than ever that want to get IB jobs yet far less spots because of COVID. If you're on this website and given your internship, it sounds like you're on the right path and that you really want it. Keep it up and get on that interview prep while you're not crushed with both school and recruiting. I don't go to IU but I've heard there's like an investment banking club/workshop that really helps with this process. If that's an option, take advantage of it.
Hey this was a really helpful reply, thank you so much!!!
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